Post by Slade on Apr 22, 2022 18:42:53 GMT -5
Live from State Farm Arena in
Atlanta, Georgia
On Monday, March 21, 2022
WWE Commentary Team: Mauro Ranallo, Tony Schiavone and Corey Graves
WWE Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel
WWE Backstage Reporter: Mean Gene Okerlund
***
Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and his Heenan Family – consisting of RAW Tag Team Champions FTR, and Adam Cole – came to the ring. Conspicuous in his absence was RAW World Champion Triple H, who Heenan said couldn’t be here due to a flight delay, but that he would be here before the end of the night. Heenan went on to brag at great length about the greatness of his family, and said he was annoyed at the sheer stupidity of some WWE superstars for failing to understand it and daring to challenge it. He was talking about “Macho Man” Randy Savage, RAW Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero, and the Hardy Boyz. Cole, Harwood, and Wheeler spoke about this group of bumbling idiots with heaping amounts of disdain. The group of aforementioned superstars appeared together on the entrance ramp, where they responded to Heenan, Cole, Harwood, and Wheeler. The Hardy Boyz got around to challenging FTR for their titles. FTR said they hadn’t been around long enough to deserve a title shot. Cole wanted to make it official that he would get a shot at Guerrero’s title, who agreed to defend it against him provided FTR agreed to defend their titles against the Hardy Boyz. Heenan didn’t like the terms and said they had to earn it, so he said that if the Hardy Boyz could beat Adam Cole and Triple H, then they could get the title shot. Guerrero said that if those are the terms, then he won’t give Cole a title shot unless his team can beat the Hardy Boyz. Both sides agree.
But just when it seemed like the segment was over, Heenan told Savage that he had a special surprise for him. On the Titantron, we suddenly saw Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley standing outside the Macho Man’s dressing room door. She knocked on the door. Miss Elizabeth opened the door, only to get attacked. Stephanie shoved her back into a wall and pulled her hair. Savage took off running. Stephanie gave Elizabeth a hairpull toss onto a round table, knocking it on its side. She kept up the assault. A camera found Savage rapidly approaching his dressing room. He entered the room, and pulled Stephanie off Elizabeth. Stephanie went to slap Savage, but he grabbed her wrist and held it tight. He had an intense bugged out look in his eyes. He was then hit in the side of the head with the butt-end of a sledgehammer. It was Triple H! He picked up Savage and through him against the wall, then he gave him a Pedigree right there on the dressing room floor! Triple H and Stephanie shared a laugh at the expense of their fallen rivals.
AJ Styles defeated Doc Gallows by submission at 7:02 when he put Gallows in the Calf Crusher, forcing him to tap out. Styles had to contend with Karl Anderson at ringside and eventually took him out with a Phenomenal Forearm. Doc Gallows got Styles in a chokehold and tried to give him a chokeslam, but Styles escaped the maneuver and took Gallows to the mat for the Calf Crusher. AJ Styles grabbed a mic and said that was two down and one to go. As he was handing the mic back to the Howard Finkel, Styles was hit from behind with a shotgun dropkick that caused him to go face-first into the turnbuckles. Balor pulled Styles out of the corner and gave him 1916. He took the mic from Finkel and said that he’ll give Styles the chance to three-for-three at WrestleMania, except the Prince will make sure he fails because this last bullet shoots to kill and it won’t miss.
Rhea Ripley defeated Jordynne Grace by pinfall at 11:39 after she gave her the Riptide. Ripley and Grace exchanged big power moves throughout the contest. After Grace dodged a running shoulderblock in the corner, resulting in Ripley’s shoulder smashing into the turnbuckle post, she lifted Ripley onto her shoulder to give her a running powerslam, but Ripley slipped free and dropkicked Grace into the turnbuckles. Then Ripley dropped her to the mat with a running big boot and followed that up with Riptide. After the match, Ripley said there was no one standing between her and the RAW Woman’s Championship besides Bianca Belair. That’s when Ruby Riot showed up and said that she stands in her way and next week they’ll have a match where the winner will challenge Belair for her title at WrestleMania.
Mean Gene Okerlund met with Ricky Steamboat backstage to ask him if he would accept the challenge of a WrestleMania match against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania II. Steamboat told him that there was no question as to what he would do. If Shawn Michaels wants to have the best match of his career, on the biggest stage in the entire business, the only thing he can do is challenge Steamboat. Thus, he accepts the challenge. However, don’t for a second think that this is going to be a friendly match between the two best WrestleMania performers of all-time. He reminds Mean Gene that two weeks ago after he eliminated Michaels from the battle royale to wrestle for the RAW World Championship, Michaels re-entered the ring and threw him out of the ring. Michaels took away his opportunity to win a World Championship on the grandest stage of them all. Now, Michaels wants Steamboat to give him the biggest and best match of his entire career. There is no question as to what Steamboat will do. He will give Michaels what he wants – but only half of what he wants. He’ll give him the best match in WrestleMania history, but the price he’ll pay is his name in the loss column. Mark his words, Steamboat will defeat Michaels at WrestleMania, and after he does, there will be no doubt as to just exactly who is the one and only Mr. WrestleMania.
Strike Force defeated Johnny Stamboli and Chuck Palumbo of the Full Blooded Italians by pinfall at 6:18 when Tito Santana pinned Stamboli after he nailed him with the flying forearm. Santana and his partner Rick Martel came to the ring for an interview with Mean Gene Okerlund. As they discussed their upcoming match versus Harlem Heat at WrestleMania, Little Guido, Big Vito, Stamboli, and Palumbo came to the ring and talked trash at the UWA Universal Tag Team Champions. Guido challenged them to a fight, and after looking to the crowd to see if they wanted them to do it, Santana and Martel accepted. After the match, all four members of the FBI proceeded to beat down the champs until Harlem Heat came to the rescue. Booker T and Stevie Ray took them on valiantly, and when Santana and Martel recovered, they joined in. Little Guido escaped unscathed, but Santana and Martel knocked out Stamboli and Palumbo with flying forearms and Booker T and Stevie Ray gave Big Vito the Towering Inferno. Both teams shook hands in a show of mutual respect.
Keith Lee defeated Cesaro by pinfall at 9:53 to qualify for the Mania Mayhem match. Lee gave Cesaro a Spirit Bomb, but the Swiss Cyborg kicked out. Later, Cesaro attempted the Neutralizer. Although he got Lee off his feet, he couldn’t get him upright. Lee got back to his feet and countered out of it with a back body drop, then picked up Cesaro and gave him the Big Bang Catastrophe and pinned him for the win.
Mean Gene Okerlund spoke to Pete Dunne, who told him that he would book his ticket to WrestleMania next week when he competes in a Mania Mayhem qualifier. PAC showed up and asked the Bruiserweight if he had thought about his proposal to form a tag team. Dunne said he considered it for about 2 seconds before deciding it wasn’t for him. He has bigger goals for himself, the first of which will get him to WrestleMania to compete in Mania Mayhem and winning a shot at the UWA Universal Men’s Championship.
UWA Women’s Champion Sasha Banks defeated Raquel Gonzalez by submission at 9:44 in this non-title match. Banks went for the Bank Statement early on, but couldn’t flip her tall opponent over to lock it in. Gonzalez escaped to the outside. Banks tried to give her a topé suicida but Gonzalez caught her and gave her a fall away slam into the barricade. Gonzalez took control, but when she attempted the one-arm powerbomb, Banks took her down with a headscissors and looked on the Bank Statement. Gonzalez forced a rope break, but Banks took control of the match from that point on and had the Bank Statement locked in once more about 90 seconds later, this time ending the match. Banks was immediately attacked from behind by Nyla Rose as the referee raised her hand in victory. Rose took the UWA Universal Women’s Championship title belt and hit Banks in the face with it. Then, she gave Banks a Beast Bomb. When she got up, she grabbed the belt and starred at it for a long time before raising it above her head.
Hardy Boyz defeated Triple H and Adam Cole by pinfall at 16:45 to earn a shot at the RAW Tag Team Championships versus Heenan Family members FTR at WrestleMania II. Matt and Jeff Hardy got out to a hot start, but Bobby “The Brain” Heenan created a referee distraction that allowed Cole to give Jeff a low blow, thus turning the tide in his team’s favour. He and Triple H isolated the Charismatic Enigma for a long stretch of the match but grew increasingly frustrated that they couldn’t get Jeff to stay on the mat for 3-seconds. When Cole went for the Boom, Jeff ducked it, then got up and hit him with a mule kick. Cole tagged out. Jeff went for the hot tag, but Triple H stopped him. Jeff gave him a mule kick and then made it to the corner. Matt came in and went to work on the champ. The Hardy Boyz rallied, executing some quick double-team maneuvers to get back in it. After Matt gave Cole the diving leg drop from the second rope, he made the pin. Heenan put Cole’s foot on the bottom rope to stop the count. Jeff complained and the referee interrogated Heenan. Unsatisfied with his answers, he ejected him. The Brain lost it and an argument ensued.
The four combatants brawled inside the ring. Triple H reversed an Irish whip that sent Jeff slamming into the referee, knocking him out of the ring. He then clotheslined Jeff to the floor and whipped him into the ring steps He brought his sledgehammer out from under the ring and place it on the ring apron. Before he could use it, “Macho Man” Randy Savage ran out and brawled with him. Macho Man chased The Game into the audience. Meanwhile, Adam Cole picked up the sledgehammer and hit Matt with it. Then, he brought Matt up to his knees and gave him the Boom! He made the pin. A second referee ran out just at the ring time to count the pinfall. 1…2.. the voice of Eddie Guerrero suddenly filled the arena. He was on the Titantron, speaking from the production truck. He told the referee that Adam Cole had cheated in an attempt to steal the win. Cole denied it, to which Guerrero pointed out he was now lying about it. Guerrero said he had video evidence and hit the replay, showing what Cole had done. He had it from multiple camera angles and repeated it in super slow motion. Cole was caught red-handed and he and Heenan were giving every excuse in the book to avoid getting the DQ. As this was happening, Jeff snuck up on Cole and gave him a Twist of Fate, then the Swanton. 1…2…3! Jeff and Matt celebrated earning the title shot. Guerrero, still on the Titantron, laughed at Cole and bragged that he stole the win away from him while he was trying to steal it, proving what he has already said, that Cole isn’t as good as Latino Heat at lying, cheating, or stealing.